The Cold and the Fiery
by Amashelle
Summary: They were best friends. One of fire, the other of ice. How did things go so wrong as to pit them against each other in a fight to the death? Cliffhanger, angst-filled ending. No plans for a second chapter. Unless I get too many complaints.


Unfortunately for me, I don't own X-men or any of its related trademarks.  
  
The team crept quietly through the complex, Cyclops, their fearless leader, confidently picking out a path through the many halls of steel. Marvel Girl- Jean, followed blindly, her eyes closed in concentration as she mentally searched for their mentor, Professor Xavier. Rouge, Storm, Nightcrawler, they were all there. Only Iceman seemed to have any misgivings about what was coming. Cloaked in armour of ice, the followed none-the-less.  
  
They dashed across an intersection, and then slowed down again so as not to be heard. Suddenly, a jet of fire came soaring out from the passage just behind the young, ice-coated man. Spinning around, Bobby was already certain of who it was.  
  
'Keep going,' he advised the rest of the team. 'I'll take care of him.' In truth, he wasn't half as confidant as his tone made him sound, but if the other's stayed, there was no telling what might happen to the attacker. Maybe, Bobby thought tentatively. Maybe I can still save him...  
  
The others listened to him, hurrying on down the hall. Stepping out into the open, Bobby Drake prepared to meet his once-best-friend in a battle that could end only one of two ways- either he convinced John to come back with him, or one of them died.  
  
X Pyro grinned as he saw who they'd sent to face him. Only a fool would use a thing of ice to defeat his burning flames.  
  
'I wondered when I'd see you again.' Pyro said, and he could tell by his old friend's expression that his tone held no warmth for the other boy.  
  
'John --'  
  
'No,' John cut him off, shaking a single finger in Bobby's general direction. 'You of all people should know what my name is, Iceman.'  
  
Bobby sighed, but corrected himself. 'Look, Pyro, you don't have to do this.'  
  
Groaning, Pyro rolled his eyes. 'I've heard the speech, Bobby; I don't need you to go getting all high and mighty on me now. Enough talk, you came here to fight me and that's what we're going to do.'  
  
'Wait, we could talk-'  
  
Pyro was apparently sick of talking, as he sent a jet of orange and red flames soaring towards Iceman, who only barely managed to send a blast of frozen air towards it, creating a temporary shield against its approaching heat.  
  
'You can't win this, Bobby. There's no way your petty walls of frozen-water can defeat my fiery gift.' Pyro yelled over to his opponent. There was no response. It was taking all of Iceman's concentration to keep a layer of ice between him and the encroaching flames.  
  
X The flames came to a sudden and unexpected halt. Looking up, Bobby peaked over his wall of ice to see his friend standing there, a ball of fire held easily in his palm. Without thinking, Iceman reached forward and froze the flames, causing Pyro to drop it immediately.  
  
Bobby grinned with the memory of the last time he'd done that- both had been showing off for Rogue on her first day at Xavier's school. His smile faded, however, as he saw Pyro's cold, icy expression.  
  
'What happened to you?' Iceman asked.  
  
'What do you mean? What happened to me?! I realized that life wasn't all one big game; that we really don't have the freedom of 'normal people' and we never will. We can either dominate or accept defeat. There is no middle ground.'  
  
'You're wrong. One day, one day there will be.'  
  
'Bobby, your own brother called the cops and said you were holding him hostage in his house! How can you say that there will one day be acceptance of us?'  
  
'He was scared, John, just like you were when you torched the cop cars.'  
  
He snorted. 'Yeah? Am I scared now, too? Are you going to psychoanalyze me now? Dr. Bobby Drake, the councillor! Screw you.' Another jet of flame came rushing towards Iceman, but he'd had more warning this time and managed to turn it into a fire-shaped popsicle, then dodge it's forward momentum. He ran towards his friend, knowing that the only way he could win was in hand- to-hand combat. Taking a leap into the air, he landed on Pyro and forced him to the steal floor.  
  
But if there was one thing John knew how to do, it was throw a punch and his fist connected with Bobby's jaw, knocking it out of alignment and causing the young blond to spit up blood. Falling sideways, Bobby relinquished any advantage he might have had as Pyro pinned him to the floor and started dealing out punches, one after the other, in a tight succession.  
  
He was starting to loose consciousness, but he knew he had to stay awake. There was nothing for it... pulling his hand out from under Pyro's knee, he sent a stream of ice careening into his friend's head, knocking him into the wall. Quickly, using a speed he didn't feel he was capable of, he iced Pyro to the floor, and only just managed to knock the lizard-patterned lighter from his hand before he could create another ball of fire.  
  
'What are you going to do, kill me?' John asked, and it was clear he didn't think Bobby was capable. He's right, though... Iceman thought. I can't kill him.  
  
'Come back with me, see that there's another way-'  
  
'I don't think so, Bobby, I know where I belong. Don't waste time, kill me. Come on, just do it- or are you afraid you can't? Afraid that, just maybe, you're not X-men material. If you can't kill a single, insignificant person, how will you be able to cope when the lives of others hang in the balance?'  
  
'Shut up.' Ashamed as he was to admit it, John was right again.  
  
'Oh, have I hit a nerve?'  
  
'I said shut UP!' The ice that bound Pyro to the floor rose until only his head could be seen. If it rose any higher, he'd suffocate- or freeze to death. For the first time since the fight began, a real look of fear came into John's eyes. He suddenly truly believed that Bobby would let him die.  
  
'You win.' Pyro said quietly, as though they'd been playing a game that had just reached a climax. But both of them know that this wasn't a game, and that Bobby had a choice to make. A choice that could make or break him. A choice that would determine how ready he was to be an X-man... 


End file.
